Reports: Former Cuban Judge Arrested in Miami for Concealing Links to the Communist Party

Former Cuban judge Juana Orquídea Acanda was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and faces deportation for hiding her links to the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), Cuba-focused outlets reported on Wednesday.

Acanda Rodríguez — a 62-year-old woman from Matanzas, Cuba — reportedly arrived at Miami International Airport on March 20 under an immigrant visa arranged by her son identified as a U.S. citizen. CBP reportedly detained Acanda Rodríguez upon her arrival and accused her of withholding key information during her immigration process — most notably, her communist affiliation and her three-decades-long career within the Castro regime’s judicial system.

“This is not an isolated case. There are more and more frequent attempts of entry by former officials who, after decades of supporting a repressive model, now seek to benefit from the freedoms of the country that for years they vilified from public office,” a federal source close to the case told Diario Las Americas on Wednesday.

The independent Cuban outlet 14 y Medio reported that Acanda Rodríguez erased any details that could give an account of her communist past before traveling to the United States, pointing out that, although there are no social media profiles to her name, a “simple internet search” reveals everything the communist judge tried to hide from the eyes of U.S. consular officials. 14 y Medio explained that her name appears listed in several Matanzas outlet articles covering galas, ceremonies, anniversaries, and decorations.

“And she is not a simple retired worker, but a figure recognized on more than one occasion for her loyalty and commitment to the regime,” 14 y Medio said. “In one of those reports where she is mentioned, one reads: ‘Perhaps retirement will keep her away, in quotation marks, from the courts, but in her mind and heart, Orquídea will always be a judge.'”

TV Yumiri, a local Cuban state-media channel in Matanzas, reported on December 2023 that Acanda Rodríguez and other individuals received commendations “in recognition of their services in the sector,” and Acanda Rodríguez herself was awarded with the “Order of Judicial Merit.”

“It is the recognition of my life’s work, the realization of my dreams, and is the best example of the work of the Revolution,” Acanda Rodríguez said at the time.

“As it always happens, the children of the regime’s leaders at all levels go to the United States and then try to bring their old parents to escape the hunger and poor conditions in the hospitals that they themselves created for the people. This has to stop,” an unnamed source with knowledge of the case told the Cuban-American journalist Mario Pentón on Wednesday.

Members of the Cuban diaspora living in the United States have repeatedly denounced dozens of Castro regime repressors known for committing human rights violations against Cubans found to be living in the United States after availing themselves of immigration policies implemented by the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden.

The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC), a nongovernmental organization, maintains a publicly accessible list of over 1,000 known and verified Castro regime repressors. The organization noted in August that, of that total, more than 115 Cuban repressors moved to the United States since February 2023 through Biden-era immigration policies such as the “Humanitarian Parole” program and the CPBOne smartphone application.

In March, Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-FL) issued an urgent request to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem calling for the deportation of the known Cuban repressors that are presently living in the United States.

One such repressor, Misael Enamorado Dager, former first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Santiago de Cuba and former member of the party’s Central Committee, self-deported in late March reportedly as a result of pressure and public scrutiny from the Cuban diaspora, which intensified following Rep. Giménez’s letter to Noem.

Enamorado Dager originally entered the United States at some point in 2023 through the Biden administration’s “Humanitarian Parole” program and resided in Texas, where his son, Misael Enamorado Leyva, reportedly lives.

In March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) detained 71-year-old Tomas Emilio Hernandez Cruz, a former Castro regime intelligence member in Miami who fraudulently obtained Lawful Permanent Residence Status in the United States. ICE detailed that Hernandez Cruz withheld his affiliation with the Cuban Communist Party and former service at various high-level posts overseas to obtain his Green Card.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.